Cusco, probably the most famous Inca city of South America. Located in the heart of the Andes on 3400 meters above the sea level the Incas settled down in around 1430 from the Puno area which is on 3900 meters above the sea level. The Palacio del Inca was one of their most important temples and was connected to the close by Kusicancha temple  and Quirkancha temple, the temple of the sun. Around 1530 the Spanish conquerors arrived in the Cusco area and Francisco Pizarro the leader took the temple as his new palace. After a couple of years he gave the palace to his younger brother and so the palacio was given from Spanish noble families to the next ones. Some hundred years later the palacio del Inca got an Museum and since ...  it is one of the luxury collection properties.

But gladly it’s not one of those big luxurious hotels in a city. Although they have over 200 rooms you still have the feeling to be the special guest in the private palace. They also kept almost everything as authentic as possible and offer a tour through the hotel everyday at 5 p.m. where they show you around the property and explain a lot about the history of the Incas and the hotel - highly recommendable.

In the lobby they have a log table with old artifacts, vases and sculptures of the further time. And also they do have over 200 paintings of famous Peruvian actors who were hired to bring the catholic religion close to the Inca people. And as we now know they used small details to bring part of their religion into the paintings too.

After the tour through the hotel I had the chance to join the free pisco sour course which is held everyday after the tour. It was very interesting and delicious too. They teach the different types of Peruvian pisco and the grapes which are used for it. Also they explained that the typical glass has its shape of the way the Incas built their houses. At the end of the course they gave some tips how to make the perfect pisco sour, for example to not use to much egg white and mix it without ice so there is not to much water in it and cool it after shaking and give it in an pre cooled glass. They finished the cocktail with angostura bitter which they painted as their classic L of luxury collection. I was very glad that I could join the tour and the course where I learned a lot about the history and culture of Cusco.

At my first evening I decided to stroll around Cusco and explore the city. I walked over the impressive plaza de Armas with its huge cathedral and afterwords I walked up to the San cristobal church from which soy could enjoy the magnificent view. Make sure to check out one of the amazing Peruvian restaurants in Cusco and try the special dishes like ceviche of trout as a starter and cobayo, the guinea pig or lomo de alpca, a very soft steak of alpaca as a main course. Back in the hotel I wanted to check out the spa and treatment area which you could book separately. There a small jacuzzi and a pool with different massaging systems too. Next to the pool area was a chill out room with heated seats and fresh tea. In the back of the area were the treatment rooms and a locker room. All in all a cosy and relaxing area.

The next day I decided to do a tour to the rainbow mountains. The area of Cusco is so rich of sights and amazing landscapes but my Favorit was the hiking tour to the 5100 meter high mountains with its seven colours which starts at five in the morning. After an three hour drive we started the 5.5 kilometre long hike where you had the chance to enjoy the full beauty of the Andes with hordes of llamas alpacas and at the end an amazingly colourful mountain. The tour is very exhausting because of the hight but you could also rent one of the horses with a native who will guid you up the comfortable way. But make sure to take a couple of days before doing a hiking trip to acclimate to the very high altitude.

After an amazing day I just went back to my glamorous room which was totally matching the palace style with all the chic wallpapers and old paintings. A royal king size bed was in the center of the room. Right next to it was a old wooden desk. Passig a small walk-in wardrobe you reach the noble bathroom which off course was fully designed in marble. Another highlight of the room was the small balcony going out to the originally entrance side of the palace. The entrance was moved to the other side of the hotel because the street of the originally entrance is very busy and there is no place to stop and letting out the guests of the hotel.